Bloody Heritage
by Caelistis.Rydraline
Summary: Inwe Nenharma: Air genasi, Shadowdancer, Child of Bhaal. The Gate is safe, Sarevok dead. But a new enemy has revealed himself. Follows the path of the PC -more or less- for BGII. To be safe I'll rate it T. Read and review? Please? Aha.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I figured I'd give this a try…hopefully it will be at least a little better than the first story I stuck up here…. Ah well.

Anyway, this is going to be following the path that the PC follows in BGII. Which I have played _way_ too many times…^.^ That said, the main character here is an air genasi by the name of Inwë

Nénharma, who is a Shadowdancer. And, obviously enough, a child of Bhaal.

And on to the disclaimer, although considering that this is a fan fiction site, it seems a little obvious. Ah well. I don't own BGII, its various characters, places, etc. Be cool if I did though…then I'd be the person from Bioware that my aunt and uncle know…Aha. BUT. I will be using bits of conversation from the actual game, and because it'll be a pain to say exactly which, and I don't want to have them awkwardly bolded, I shall just double the quotation marks. I think that works. So on we go. And if you'd be kind enough to leave a review, it would be most appreciated…. Please? Aha.

"Ah, it seems you have finally awoken." The voice echoed in the dark. Was I awake? Maybe…. The voice didn't help; I heard it in my dreams. The pain? No, that stayed with me too. I was _so_ tired. Maybe I was awake, then. That wasn't exactly a comforting thought, although it was good to know that I could still use some sort of logic.

""It is time for more…experiments."" My heart raced, a part of me actually caring enough to panic. Opening my eyes, I looked up to the face of my captor. His eyes, so devoid of emotion, reflected the flickering lights of the braziers. Veins stood out in his face and neck; I could see the thick blue line pulsing in his neck. Cracked lips moved as he began a spell, and, as always, I scrambled as far from his as I could. Of course, the fact that I was in a cage (not a cell, a cage. Maybe six feet in diameter.) meant that I moved only a few inches before my back pressed against the cold bars.

The final syllable of his spell faded, and I shut my eyes against the tiny black daggers I saw appearing. Rift daggers. But closing my eyes only meant that I couldn't see them as they approached, or their caster watching with the air of a scientist waiting to see if his experiment will work this time. I felt each agonizingly slow incision, and heard only my own screaming echoing.

"Inwë? Inwë, get up! C'mon, we've gotta get out of here!" My eyes snapped open at the voice whose familiarity held no ties to torture.

"Imoen?" The mage stood before my cage, the door now open. Her red-purple hair was a mess, her clothing torn and bloody. I probably looked little better. "How did you get out?" I asked, pulling myself to my feet.

"My cell was damaged, there's fighting going on, and I dunno what's happening."

"D'you know where anyone else is? I don't – Nn, _shit!" _My body was screaming in protest as I walked beside Imoen.

"I think I heard Minsc," she said, "Don't think he's too far. But I don't know about anyone else."

She pulled open a door to our left, and inside the room I could see a table covered in various blades, and polearms hanging on the wall. I stepped in first, and froze. Imoen came up behind me, but seemed impressed rather than afraid, letting out a low whistle. A huge, relatively man-shaped stone stood in the corner of the room, its eyes fixed upon us.

"A golem. That's some pretty powerful magic. Good thing is, they can't think. They'll just do what they're told to do, so if he hasn't attacked yet, I don't think he will."

Imoen walked up to it, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as the creature turned to face her.

"What is this place?" she asked, far too loudly, in my opinion.

"The master does not wish you to be out of your cells. You will return." The golem's voice was deep, and sounded more like boulders rubbing against each other than any voice I'd heard. I snorted at its command, and stepped over to the table. "Not likely," I muttered.

"Who is 'the master'?" Imoen asked.

"You will return to your cells."

"I don't think he's in the mood to chat," I said, lifting a rapier from the table. I set it down again, noticing a chest in the corner. As Imoen looked the weapons over, I examined the chest, searching for traps. I couldn't see any, and it was unlocked, so I flipped the lid up. Inside there were various types of armor. Pushing my blue-black hair out of my face, I grabbed some dark leather, holding it up to see the size.

I tried it on, finding it to be only a little big. I kept it on, thinking it unlikely that we'd find any tailored to our sizes here; it was unlikely that any of our gear remained. Everything we'd owned had had an enchantment of some sort, and from what I could tell, our captor liked magic. If any of it _was_ still here, it was probably lying in a heap of scrap metal, all magic removed.

Turning back to the table, I saw Imoen rubbing her hands forcefully over her forehead.

"You okay?" I asked. Of course, as soon as the words left my mouth I realized how ridiculous they were. Neither of us was 'okay'.

"My head hurts," she said, looking up. "It's- it's like my bones made a little dagger, and it just- it won't…go away. Don't look at me like that; it just hurts, all right? You know what I mean, though. He didn't spare you the knives any more than me. I could hear you screaming." She picked up a short sword, turning it over in her hands. "I'm sorry, I just…need to get out of here."

"So do I," I said, taking both the rapier and a dagger. "Gods, what in the hells is this, anyway? He just leaves all these weapons out in the open? Mind you, there's nothing for them, unless he's hidden them." Irritably, I strode towards the door, and saw, to my surprise, a key. Hanging on a hook. Beside the door. "You're not serious," I said. "Why not hang it outside a cell, while giving the occupant a string, maybe some wax, some wire?" Regardless of my disbelief, I pulled it down. "Well, shall we go find who we can?" I asked Imoen as she walked over, resisting the urge to lean back against the doorframe.

""Inwë, promise we won't look back. I don't care what kind of power this guy thinks he can unlock in you. I can't stand all these shadows."

I shook my head, ignoring its threat to explode. "Let's just get the hell out of here."

So. Hopefully that wasn't a complete failure. _I_ don't think so, but what do I know? Aha. Uhm, yeah…. And again, I'd really, _really_ appreciate reviews. Sil vous plait.

Yours 'till death,

..


	2. Chapter 2

All right. Second chapter it is. And much to my chagrin I noticed that my squiggly lines disappeared on the last chapter…and my indentations... -_- Ah well.

**And again, because I don't want people attacking me 'cause I'm using the characters, I don't own it, etc. etc. **

**Mm, and I'm going to be taking a lot of Minsc's dialogue directly from the game, because it's bloody brilliant, and I can't bear to rewrite it. Aha, I love Minsc. And also, because I hated Dynaheir, and killed her off in the first game so I could grab someone else, she doesn't exist. Let's pretend the gnolls killed her. **

The hall was dark, and relatively quiet. Distant and sporadic sounds of battle could be heard on all sides. I turned to Imoen, but before I could speak, a voice sounded from a room to our right.

""These bonds will not hold my wrath! Butts will be liberally kicked in good measure!""

I grinned. "Nevermind. That answers my question." She smiled slightly, and we hurried inside.

The berserker paced within his cell, Boo sitting comfortably on his shoulder. The bars on his door seemed to have taken quite a few beatings, and from the look of it, I wasn't getting the key into the lock any time soon. Other than his bruised and scraped hands, he appeared to be uninjured. When he spotted us, he stopped, meeting us on the opposite side of his door.

"Inwë! Imoen! We must free ourselves and find this evil man who walks in shadow and preys on people while they sleep!"

I wasn't about to point out that as a Shadowdancer, I walked in the shadows a hell of a lot more than that damned mage. But I also had no idea how to get Minsc out of his cell. I glanced at Imoen, who was studying the lock. She looked up and shrugged. Sighing, I bit back my impatience, trying to ignore the throbbing pain and think of something. As I stared at the bashed in lock, an idea came to me. It wasn't really the best I've ever had, but in our current situation, I didn't really care. If Minsc went berserk, he really shouldn't have any difficulty bashing through the door….

Much as I hated it, I was going to have to make him mad to achieve that.

"I see no way of getting you out of there," I said, trying to sound indifferent. "And we can't waste time trying. Let's go, Imoen." The mage frowned up at me, then seemed to realize my plan. Considering we were practically sisters, it didn't surprise me.

"Boo is outraged that you would leave us! Do not make me add your butt to the kicking list! I would do so reluctantly, but I will!"

I turned, taking a few steps towards the door before turning back as if waiting for Imoen. ""You are quite clearly insane. You can stay were you are.""

Anger was building within the large man. I had seen him in battle before, of course, so the rage within his eyes wasn't something new to me, but seeing it directed at me…. Minsc grabbed the bars, the muscles bulging in his corded arms as he pulled. With a terrible groan, the metal gave way, the door twisting open reluctantly.

""The bars, they bend and twist with my berserker strength! Minsc and Boo are free! Now you will…now…"" To my relief, the anger in his eyes faded as he looked at us. I stepped forward, smiling. ""O-o-oh. I understand now! You said what you did just to get me mad. Mad enough to break free, ha ha! You are as smart as Boo, sometimes!"" With that, he pulled me into a hug. I winced; holding back a yelp as he pressed bruises and cuts.

"If you've all quite finished in there, I would appreciate some help." Jaheira's voice called from the adjoining room. I walked over to see the half-elf sitting against the back wall of her cell, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Now yours, I can open," I said, unlocking the cell. "I'm glad we found you, how are you doing?"

""I have been spared any serious mistreatment. You however, look to have been treated most unfavourably.""

I looked away. When it came to people coming after us, I tended to be the target. I'd never been in a situation this bad, but the results weren't entirely unexpected. However, the fact that Imoen had been subjected to the same abuse didn't make that much sense. Why her and not the others?

Well, I hope that wasn't too bad. Again, reviews would be much appreciated. ^.^

**Yours 'till death,**

**. Caelistis. Rydraline.**


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again! Now, to address something brought up in a review, I know that there aren't any prestige classes in BGII, but there's also no genasi race. I find the races and classes they have rather limiting, and didn't think that those choices were really enough to warrant labeling this a crossover with NWNII. I hope none of you mind terribly. And I realized I'll have to cut down on the resting I do in BGII…'cause I think I've taken a few days to get out of the prison, if you were to actually count the hours…. Ah well.

**And I don't own BGII; it's characters, plot, etc. etc. ::sigh:: Wish I did, though.**

A quick backtrack had us all armed, and we were now walking through the dark hallways. Even Minsc was quiet, which would have impressed the gravity of the situation upon any who happened upon us and knew him.

This entire place was full of odd magickal contraptions, most of which we had no idea about, as well as hellishly annoying creatures. One such contraption was _creating_ said annoying creatures. We had turned a corner, stepping over black-clad bodies, to see a large metal thing in the centre of the next room. Electricity crackled within, and you could feel it even from the doorway. It flashed, blinding us all temporarily and somehow spawning a mephit. A lightning mephit, no less.

"Inwë," Jaheira pointed to a switch across the room. "Turn the thing off, we'll deal with that," she said, looking at the flying creature with distaste. I hurried over as she followed Minsc, who had charged forward upon sighting the mephit. Behind me, I could hear Imoen beginning a spell.

I reached out to grab the handle of the switch, receiving a shock when I touched it. "Fucking hells," I muttered, my whole arm half-numb and tingling. The machine behind me started to crackle again, and I pulled the lever quickly, not wanting to end up with another mephit. To my relief, I wasn't shocked again.

A grating cry and it's following thump sounded as I turned, the mephit dead.

We continued on our way, not sparing the creature a second glance.

The next room was…odd; there really was no other description. Round, more or less, and made of what seemed to be an orange coloured rock. Certainly nothing like the rectangular, grey corridors, and colourless, chain filled rooms before it. The rock was raised in some spots, and I would call it natural if I didn't know where I was. These were filled with clear water. I approached one, peering into it. Pictures formed on the surface: cities, day and night, people going about their daily routines. Nothing that I could really see a relevance to.

""Greetings, Inwë. You escaped somewhat later than I had hoped."" My head snapped up at the voice, my weapons rose automatically. A djinni hovered lazily across the room. "I do hope you like it. I try to keep my little space somewhat more pleasing than the rest of this dreary place."

""I have escaped. I now wonder what part you had in my capture,"" I said suspiciously. My friends I could trust. A djinn that suddenly pops out of nowhere? Not so much.

"Your little adventures are far too interesting for me to wish you jailed in here, Inwë." He seemed to be waiting for me to say something. I did not comply, so he continued. "Will you answer a question for me?"

I frowned. What in the hells could a djinni be interested in asking me? "To what end?"

He sighed dramatically. "Will you not just humor me? No? Then I shall give you some advice towards your escape."

I turned to my companions. Well, more specifically Jaheira. Minsc, as much as I loved him, really would not help me in this (though I'm sure Boo would have something to say), and Imoen had no more experience in the world than me.

"I see no harm in it," she said. "He does not seem a malevolent sort, and we stand by you if he turns out to be one." I nodded, turning back to the djinni.

"All right. Ask your question."

""Excellent. Here then, is my hypothetical question. You and your sibling are trapped in separate cells, both of which have a button. A wizard appears and explains his sadistic game. If you push the button, and your sibling does not, you will die, but your sibling goes free. If your sibling pushes the button and you do not, your sibling dies and you go free. If both of you push the button, both of you die. If neither of you pushes the button you both die. He gives you an hour to decide, and disappears. Will you push the button?"

I frowned, frustrated. What in the hells did it matter? My head ached, and I didn't want to have to make such a decision.

""This is silly," Minsc exclaimed. ""Buttons are not how you escape dungeons! I would smash the button and rain beatings liberally down upon the wizard for playing such a trick!""

I smiled, looking at the djinni to see his reaction. Seeming slightly amused, he said ""Verily. Of that I have no doubt, Minsc. But this question is hypothetical only, and requires an answer born of the wisdom of Inwë, not your impatience. Inwë?""

"I will push the button," I said. True enough, had it been me and Imoen, though she wasn't really my sister. At the same time, however, I did wonder if that answer wasn't born of my own cowardice. Maybe I was just looking into this too much, suddenly wondering if the wizard he had meant was the one who had locked us up here.

""No choice is made without consequence, especially that which follows the noble path. Deal with this, noble one!"" With that shout, the djinni faded, and a pillar of green and grey smoke erupted before me. I heard the mumbling of an ogre within and drew back.

"What the fuck was that for?" I asked angrily. "I answered the damn question!"

The smoke began to clear, and Minsc ran forward, sword raised. Trying to calm my frustration, I let myself fall into the shadows, creeping behind the creature. With the smoke gone, I could see the garishly coloured robes that the ogre wore. An ogre mage. Shit.

The ogre's magic missiles shot towards Jaheira, who took them without a sound, unsurprisingly. Minsc's sword came crashing down, and both the ogre and I jumped out of the way. I would have liked to think that it wouldn't have come that close had I been completely visible, but knowing Minsc…. Ah well. I really should be keeping an eye on what was happening around me regardless.

My left hand shot forward, pushing my dagger through the ogre's thick hide and disrupting his spell. I pulled it back, but before I could continue with my attack, a spear tip poked through the ogre's robes. When it jerked out, the ogre crumpled to the ground.

"Nicely done." The djinni shimmered back into view over the ogre's body. "I see you can deal with the consequences of your actions." As I opened my mouth angrily, he held up a hand. "Now now. Would you have answered my question if I had told you that was going to happen? No. But I promised you advice, did I not? Very well. Seek out Rielev, he is elsewhere in this prison." Before I could say anything, he vanished again.

"Gods above," I muttered. Go find this person. I'm not going to give you any _useful_ advice. Why in the hells would I? Ugh. I stopped my mental tirade, looking over to Jaheira.

"You okay?" She raised an eyebrow, and I smiled despite my frustration. "All right, all right. Dumb question."

"I'm glad you're finally learning," she said, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Well then.

**Hope that was all right. Anyway, thanks for the reviews I have received. And more would be very much appreciated. ^. ^ **

**Yours 'till death,**

**. Caelistis. Rydraline.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four, and we haven't gotten out yet. ::sigh:: I'm **_**writing**_** this and I'm getting fed up with the damn prison. Ah well. But on that note, I'll just mention that I'm going to skip some stuff in here, because if it was me in there, I'd want to get out. I wouldn't be wandering around like I tend to when playing…**

**BGII is not mine. Most unfortunately. ^.^**

As we turned into another corridor, I could hear a bubbling sound, which grew louder as we walked. I looked over at Imoen, who shrugged. I wasn't entirely sure that I _wanted_ to know what it was.

Jaheira pushed open another door, all of us hoping that it might hold a staircase. Up preferably. It seemed unlikely that we were ground level or above, considering that this was a prison, and there was a significant lack of windows. Not that I'd be too interested in climbing through a window, but if it came to it….

There was no staircase, but I stepped inside anyway, a horrified fascination coming over me. A huge glass container stood against the left wall, metal encasing the top and bottom, with cords of…something… going from it to the wall behind. Behind the glass I could see a bubbling blue-green liquid, suspended in which was…. Gods, I didn't think it really was a man anymore. His skin, wrinkled beyond belief, clung loosely to his bones. Any muscle or fat was long gone. I edged closer to it, my curiosity overcoming my disgust.

""Ah, who be thee? Servants of the master?"" It turned its overlarge eyes upon me as my companions came up behind me. The voice almost echoed, though I didn't quite understand how it was speaking at all.

"I am no one's servant," I said. "And if your master is the one who imprisoned us, he won't live long if we see him."

"Why are you in this…container? Who are you?" Jaheira asked.

"Rielev. A faithful servant…forgotten…I think. It has been so…long."

Rielev. By the Gods…. Not that I didn't feel something for this…man?… being stuck in there, but if he was the one who was supposed to help us, well, I don't know what in the hells that djinni was about.

"Eternal life…promised…for my work. But it has been so long…" His sunken eyes drifted off; he seemed quite exhausted by his speech. I wondered…but that would be one hell of a question; hey, do you want me to kill you? Gods. Sometimes I really wondered why I was doing this.

"Do…do you want an end to this…" I cast about for the word, not entirely sure whether I could still call him alive. "This existence?"

He turned to me. Not just his eyes, as before, but he actually twisted his entire body, seeming far more alive than before.

"An end? A release from this? Yes! I no longer wish for this life." The pleading was evident in his voice, even from within the glass.

"How can I…?"

"The crystals. Take them. They power this. Wake the others with them. Perhaps…perhaps they could help you…as I cannot."

I frowned at the metal contraption to the back of the glass, trying to figure out where, exactly, these crystals were. Jaheira stepped around me, pulling a rod from the middle. The room was silenced; a hum that I hadn't even notice ceasing to be. A smile crept across Rielev's face.

""I thank thee...go, and leave me to oblivion at last. Sweet sleep…"

I turned away from the glass. How many had I killed since leaving Candlekeep? Too many to count, it seemed. Why was this so different? I had looked into the eyes of my opponents as they died; I know I had with Saervok. But I couldn't even watch as this man finally fled from his tortured existence.

I moved away from the tank, looking at what else was in the room. As a distraction? Maybe. Probably. I grabbed a rune covered stone from the table, flipping it over in my hand. Something else to hold on to, but I figured I'd keep it anyway. I heard Minsc speak behind me.

""I would hate being forgotten in a bottle. It might depend somewhat on the type of bottle, but overall I expect the effect would be similar. It is not right.""

Typical. I'm confusing myself with my feelings, and Minsc is imagining being in Rielev's position.

After scanning the chests at the back of the room, I flipped them open. I cocked my head to the side, frowning, as I saw the contents. Our backpacks. Obviously empty, and undoubtedly completely magick-free, but still. I heard footsteps behind me, and I pulled the top pack out.

"What do you think?"

"I think our captor was not expecting us to escape." Jaheira seemed far less surprised by the discovery than I was, and took the bag, slipping it onto her back. I grabbed mine, the amateur embroidery I had worked slightly dirty, but visible all the same. I dropped the stone in one of the pockets. Pulling out another unadorned one, and Imoen's rather more masterfully decorated one, I turned. Minsc stood beside Jaheira, and I handed a pack to him. He immediately showed it to Boo, asking the opinion of his miniature-giant space hamster. Imoen still stood before Rielev's tank, staring up at it.

"Imoen?" She turned to me, shaking her head slightly as if waking from a daydream, and walked over. I handed her bag to her, unsure if she was okay. She looked down at it.

"What's he doing?" she asked incredulously. I shrugged.

"Jaheira's probably right: I doubt he was expecting us to escape. To be honest, neither was I." Maybe not the most optimistic view, and I kind of regretted saying it, but hey, I was just being honest. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, shrugging. "I just want to get out of here," she said. I didn't really think that was all, but I've never been one who presses a point like that. If it needed to be done, usually Jaheira was the one to do it. Or Minsc, though he usually did it unintentionally, being who he is.

I turned back to the chest. Another two packs remained. Whose? One would be Khalid's…I handed it to Jaheira. She took it without a word, rolling it and putting it into her own. The other…. I suppose it was whoever else was with us then…. It was so long ago, though, or felt like it anyway. Damn it. Who the hell was it?

Trying not to reveal my frustration, I did the same as Jaheira with the remaining bag. With those out of the way, I now saw, unbelievably, our belts. Pouches were still attached, scabbards belted on…the whole deal. I grabbed one in disbelief.

"What in the hells…?" It was mine. To my chagrin, neither the enchanted dagger or rapier were there, but I hadn't really expected the weapons to be lying around. I hadn't really thought we'd find the bags or belts, either….

I buckled it on, and slid my new weapons in. Luckily, they fit. I remembered switching my dagger just before this, replacing the curved one, and I thanked the Gods I had. I hated fighting with a single weapon, but it was getting to be a pain in the ass carrying our weapons in hand.

Having exchanged the discomfort of carrying nothing but naked weapons for the discomfort of finding our own things, we continued through the prison. For reasons I cannot explain, we ran into about three small groups of goblins. They weren't overly difficult to best, but we all ended up with some minor wounds.

As we picked over the corpses, I realized I was dreading the long period of healing this was going to take, and smiled. Of course. We still hadn't found a way out of this damned place, and I was getting annoyed at the fact that I'd be sitting around uncomfortably for days after we did get out. As I felt my spirits lift, I realized how bipolar I'd been since Imoen had freed me. Why, I had no idea. But I was going from pissed off and pessimistic to practically laughing out loud. Lovely. Yet more confusion. Gah.

Aside from the fact that they were down here in the first place, the goblins had a strange amount of gold on them. I mean, I'd run across goblins and kobolds that were practically the nobility of their race, but they were on the surface. As weird as our escape attempt had been so far, I doubted if our captor actually had his security so lax as to allow _goblins _to wander in and out as they pleased.

The next door we came across – which really wasn't that far down the hall – seemed to be where the 'others' Rielev had spoken of were staying. Large glass tubes bordered the room, with one at the centre, which was about triple their size. From the looks of it, that was what was keeping the separate tanks powered. Well, maybe half-powered. Though each tank held…something, none were moving. They were just…floating there. The liquid in three of the tanks bubbled gently, the others were still, looking –if possible- more dead.

""I know this room," Imoen whispered, looking in horror at the tanks. "I've been in here, we both have. These creatures, these _things_ in the tanks…they used to be…_people._""

Jaheira walked briskly towards the nearest bubbling tank, the crystals to power the unit in hand. After a moment of hesitation, I followed her. I heard Minsc offering to let Imoen hold Boo for support at the door, and again felt my heart lighten. It seemed impossible to crush Minsc's spirit, for which I was glad.

The half-elf pushed the crystals into the metal back of the tank, starting a low hum. The thing inside the tank jerked. Between the bubbles, the liquid, and its general state I had no idea what it was. If it _had_ been a person, well…

"Master? Master, is that you?" A young man's voice called out to us, sending a shudder through me. I guessed that it either couldn't see us too well, or had no eyes; Jaheira and I looked nothing like our captor.

If it was calling for its master in this state, I wondered if it had gone in there willingly. Evidently it held no anger towards the 'master', judging by the tone of voice. I hoped it wouldn't feel any towards a fellow captive…

"No, I'm not your master. Who are you?"

"Master? Please forgive me, I did not mean to go into the mistress' room! I swear it!"

I looked at Jaheira in confusion. "We are not your master," she said loudly.

"I wasn't trying to steal from the mistress' room, master!"

"You can't hear us, can you?" I asked. The creature continued to shout it's apologies and denials until Jaheira removed the crystals. The voice died, the creature becoming still within the bubbles once again.

I glanced over at Imoen as we moved to the next 'live' jar. She was gazing down at the hamster in her hands, Minsc's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yes, master, of course." I turned at the voice. Jaheira had powered up the creature's tank.

"No, the golem is not active. Do you wish him to perform his duties?" I opened my mouth to say something, but the creature continued it's one-sided conversation.

"No, master, I don't have the activation stone. Did you not leave it with Rielev?" The creature paused, as if listening to a reply. Perhaps it heard its instructions.

"Yes, master. Thank you, master." It fell silent, and Jaheira removed the crystals. Were we to find nothing but mindless golems and madness in here?

I wondered what 'duties' the golem had. Perhaps removing the creatures that our captor's inventions created…. It could be helpful. From the sounds of it, though, we needed the 'activation stone'. Whatever that was. As I followed Jaheira to the last of the bubbling tanks, I realized I already had it.

"If we can find that golem, I've got the stone for it," I said. The half-elf turned to me.

"What?"

"I grabbed it off a table in the other room. What do you think it does, anyway?"

"I have no idea. Hopefully nothing violent towards us, as we're in no shape to take on a golem at the moment, especially you two." With that, she turned, waking the final creature with the crystals.

"Master? Please, master, help me! Agh! It burns! Please, master, you must have something that can help! Perhaps your djinni would have a medicine! Master, please!" I wrenched the crystals from their place, tossing them onto the floor. The madness of the other two had been disconcerting, but this one's pain gave me much the same feeling as when Rielev had died.

""It is monstrous that one would do such a thing to a servant," Jaheira said, staring at the creature. "To lock him away in an eternity of pain. It offends nature.""

Minsc looked up at us when we approached, his arm still around Imoen. I wondered a little if it was partly to keep an eye on Boo, making sure that no one made off with him…

The hallway turned to an open door. Inside was a circular room, and a stone golem standing motionless in the centre. The depression in its chest led me to believe that this was the golem belonging to the stone I'd found.

I approached it cautiously, slipping into the shadows; Jaheira was right in saying that we weren't up to a fight with a golem. It remained motionless even when I came so close that I could have touched it. Stepping back into the light, I motioned for the others to come in.

"D'you think it needs the stone to be active at all?" I asked. Before anyone could answer, the golem spoke. Just like the first one we had encountered, its voice reminded me of stones sliding over each other.

""Master, is that you? You have given me no eyes, so I cannot see."" I made a face, looking over at my friends. Jaheira motioned for me to talk.

"Er-yes. It is I…." I paused a moment, hoping the mage hadn't bothered to work any sort of voice recognition into the golem's magick.

""Would you like me to open the doors and perform my duties, master?""

"Ye-eah. Go perform your duties."

"I will require the activation stone, master."

"Mm? Er, right…" I fished in my pack for the stone, pressing it hesitantly into the depression. "Er…here you go."

With more sounds of grinding stones, the golem rushed from the room. It moved far faster than I had expected; the mage had probably added a haste charm in its creation. I turned to my friends.

"Well?"

"All I'll say is we're lucky it was a blind _golem_." Jaheira rolled her eyes.

As we progressed through the halls, I noticed more and more torches on the walls. They began to feel somewhat less threatening, though as soon as I realized it I doubled my guard. Gods know what kind of sick joke our captor was trying to pull.

We turned a corner, nearly walking into a group of goblins. This one was larger than the last two, with seven goblins. Their grating cries echoed in the hall as they pulled out their weapons. I saw them falter when Minsc came tearing around the corner, sword raised, but of course, they decided to press their attack. I really did wonder if there was such a thing as an intelligent goblin…

Sheathing my sword, I looked around at almost familiar surroundings. A library.

""Oh, this reminds me so much of Candlekeep,"" Imoen said, voicing my thoughts. ""Dusty old tomes all over, bookcases nearly spilling. It's like we never left."" She trailed off. I rested my hand gently on her shoulder.

"We'll get back there," I assured her.

""I just want to go home, Inwë. I don't care where it is, as long as I can call it home.""

I was silent. What do you say to that, really? Start reminiscing; discussing all the crazy things we got up to before everything fell apart? A sarcastic retort would be my usual, but this obviously wasn't the time. But I also knew that Imoen wanted to get home and stay there, and I wasn't ready for that. Not yet, anyway.

**So, hope this is going well from your point of view. I'm having fun here, anyway. **

**Yours 'till death,**

**. Caelistis. Rydraline.**


	5. Chapter 5

And it's chapter five! And still in the damned prison. Gods, this is frustrating. S'pose I'm the one who decided to write this…but still. I _really_ hate this place. This is reminding me how much I love the dungeonbegone mod. And if anyone's actually reading this, my apologies for the wait. My procrastination ran into Nanowrimo. ^.^

**OoOoOoOoO**

Gods, I hated this place. With every step I took down the endless hallways my frustration mounted. Not only was I desperate to breathe fresh air, but there was a nagging thought accompanying me: the longer we took getting out, the more likely it was that our captor would return before we reached an exit.

With my thoughts occupied as such, I didn't really register the grey-skinned dwarves that stood in the room we turned into.

They seemed as surprised as we were when they saw us, and began speaking to each other. Although I couldn't understand their language, my hopes of finding fellow captives were crushed as their tones became hostile, pulling out a variety of weapons.

Now, goblins were one thing, regardless of the numbers we'd found them in. These were battle-hardened duergar, all six from the look of it. One armed with a crossbow settled himself before their mage, who was already beginning a spell.

We sprang into action, each finding a separate target. I heard Jaheira casting behind me, and changed my course, darting towards the duergar who had set his sights upon the druid. Slipping from the shadows to attack, he didn't notice me until my blades had crossed over his throat.

A bolt grazed my jaw as I turned to the mage's guard. The next thudded into my side, tearing through leather and into my skin. I felt an all too familiar twinge through the pain and pulled the bolt out, scowling. Why the fuck _wouldn't_ they have enchanted weapons?

When I started forwards to attack, the dwarf stumbled sideways, his crossbow falling from his hands with a clatter as he reached to the arrow protruding from his neck. Instinctively I let the shadows hide me again, looking to the right to see who was adding their bow to the fight.

A Kara-Turan man stood in the next hall, already aiming an arrow at the last remaining duergar. He seemed more or less unharmed (especially compared to us) but from the way he held himself I could tell that he wasn't a stranger to battle.

The four of us stood staring at him without a word. I wasn't sure about anyone else, but as the last thing we held a conversation with ended up sticking an ogre mage on us, I wasn't all too optimistic about where a new one would lead.

"Am I to understand that this means you are _not_ in league with whatever evil it is that keeps this place?" he asked, guesturing to the corpses with his bow. "If that be the case, I would gladly appreciate your assistance."

"It hardly looks as if you'd need it," I said, still regarding him suspiciously. He shrugged.

"I may have some skill with a bow, but if I'd run across them on my own, I doubt if it would have ended happily for me."

"Do you expect us to take the fact that you were willing to help us here by killing duergar to be evidence that you aren't working with our enemy?" Jaheira asked, her sharp gaze fixed on him. "I do not trust anything I find in the belly of the beast."

"I would hope not; I would call you a fool otherwise. My name is Yoshimo, perhaps you have heard of me?"

His revelation was met by blank stares all around. Yoshimo seemed surprised, and more than a little disappointed.

"You're not from Athkatla, then?"

"Is that where this is? ' Athkatla'?" I asked. He spread his arms out, shaking his head.

"It could be. I was either unconscious or drugged when I was brought here, and if it was the first, I doubt if we could be far from the city. If the latter, we could be anywhere. Which leads me again to request your assistance."

"Inwë! We cannot leave this man in such a place as this! Boo will not allow it!"

I looked over at my companions as I thought, wishing that for once something in this infernal dungeon would both prove easy, and not fill me with unease. I wanted to trust Yoshimo: besides the addition of another ally in an unfriendly place, the fact that his emotions seemed to be clearly displayed on his face made me feel like I _could_ trust him. At the same time, it was both of those facts that made me distrust him. Everything in this place had seemed almost painfully set up: our lack of any _real_ opposition during our ongoing escape; the easy access to decent weapons and armour. And now this – another 'captive', also armed, interested in joining up with us. As much as I wanted to avoid an arrow in my back in these halls, the prospect of another person in any upcoming battles was certainly a tempting one.

Minsc's opinion was clear: unsurprisingly he was determined to aid Yoshimo. From the looks of it, Jaheira seemed to share my thoughts. As I looked at Imoen, however, I frowned. She stood slightly off to the side from the others, staring vacantly to the side. More than ever, now, I wanted to get us out of here.

I turned back to Yoshimo. "All right." He relaxed somewhat, a grateful expression on his face.

"I may know which way the exit is," he said. I didn't say anything, watching him warily now. Thanks for adding yet another healthy dollop of suspicion to the mix, there, Yoshimo. Because either there was something stopping him from heading that way, or this was just a _painfully_ obvious attempt to lure us into a trap. I wasn't really sure which I would rather have.

"I ran into a rather large group of mephitis. Luckily, they didn't seem to be interested in killing me enough to follow me. Aside from them, I believe I heard another group of these lovely creatures," he said, nodding at the duergar. It could be worse, I suppose. It would get there, undoubtedly, though.

"Lead on, then," I said, trying to keep the sigh from my voice.

OoO

Two thoughts kept nagging at me as we walked. One was the obvious query of where Khalid was. It had been strange enough not to see him near where we had been kept captive, but a very pessimistic part of me was wondering if we would find him in one of the tanks we had seen earlier.

The other was the question of who our other companion had been. I kept trying to go over our previous companions, trying to figure out what they had gone off to do after everything at the Gate had ended, but it seemed that I always forgot people. Although I really should have been paying attention to everything around me, I started my list again: Xan, back to Evareska; Kivan, to Shilmista; Xzar and Monty had stalked off without really saying where to; Viconia had done the same, tired of the rather lawful path we had always tended towards. So who did that leave?

If the situation were less pressing, I might have better appreciated how this reminded me of all those times in class after Imoen and I had snuck out to cause some sort of mischief in the night, only to make our troublemaking oh so obvious when both of us could barely function the next day.

When the hallway ended in a closed door – rather abruptly, to me – I pulled myself from my distracted thoughts. No use in getting myself killed over that. I glanced around at my companions before I pushed the heavy door open.

The room itself was gloomy: the torches burned low, casting dark shadows around everything. The half of the room that we stood in now was decent enough, with neatly organized bookshelves, a desk and a chair, a locked trunk. But it was the far half that held my attention. Even with the poor lighting, I could see the blood on the walls. There were three tables pushed against them, and the sole empty one matched the stone beside it. The corpses on the other two answered both the questions I had had only moments ago.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Sorry if this was a bit…rushed. I'm incredibly sick of this dungeon. If you hadn't noticed. If my frustration is annoying, I apologize. I need to vent this, aha. **

**And for the duergar, I really couldn't think of why they'd be speaking English/common. Because, really, can you see Irenicus teaching them? ^.^**


End file.
